Existing comment:
The Joinery:
"John Hemmings was a carpenter. He was a first-rate workman, a very extra workman. He could make anything that was wanted in woodwork."
-- Monticello Overseer Edmund Bacon
Jefferson established a Joinery on Mulberry Row to produce the distinctive architectural woodwork for his house. Here joiners (highly skilled carpenters) made doors, windows, and decorative finish work, such as cornices, mantels, balustrades, and railings. Beginning in the 1770s, Jefferson engaged a series of white joiners, including James Dinsmore and John Neilson, who trained slave apprentices. John Hemmings succeeded Dinsmore as head joiner in 1809, making fine furniture for Jefferson, including cabinets, chairs, and tables.
The Joinery:
The woodworking and furniture-making shop at Monticello is called the Joinery because the furniture made there was held together with wooden joints rather than nails. John Hemmings cut pieces of wood to fit together exactly like puzzle pieces. |